When I realized that $1,250 of the $2,000 canopy kit was made up mostly of welded parts, I belatedly got into the welding game. I decided to purchase the gear necessary to gas weld my parts. I flirted with MIG welding until I was told by ZAC that they considered MIG to be non-structural. Got the Meco Micro torch, tips, hoses and bought tanks locally. While I show this as zero hours, I have invested plenty of time over the last week getting up to speed. I believe I have mastered "strong". Now I need to get a handle on "pretty". My welds aren't much to look at, but they have good penetration and show no signs of cracking under stress. Today I put my welding gear away to get back to fuselage assembly. Expect to hear more about my welding adventure once the fuselage is on wheels and a canopy system is next in line. That will be my chance to convert $140 worth of 4130 chomemoly steel into $1,000+ worth of welded parts. Good luck to me.
